My undergrad major was criminology. I had a few adjunct profs. who were lawyers by day. They mostly worked for the state. They all complained about massive loans and drove pretty crummy cars. I'm sure they weren't there for fun, but were teaching to make ends meet.

Maybe lawyers that are poor don't like to advertise the fact they're poor lawyers?

There are tons of poor lawyers. In DC, most gov't, small firm and PI lawyers start somewhere around $45K. After taxes, that's $30K. When you subtract another $1K/month for loan payments and $1K/month for rent/utilities(in the ghetto), that leaves only $6K for everything else. I don't know how people live on $500/month. I spend $1K/month on food alone.

There are tons of poor lawyers. In DC, most gov't, small firm and PI lawyers start somewhere around $45K. After taxes, that's $30K. When you subtract another $1K/month for loan payments and $1K/month for rent/utilities(in the ghetto), that leaves only $6K for everything else. I don't know how people live on $500/month. I spend $1K/month on food alone.

How many people are you feeding with $1K a month? That is assinine. You can feed a family of four steaks twice a week and still spend well under $1K/month.

How come I've never met a poor lawyer .. they all seem to be rich .. yet some people here say that many lawyers dont really make much money ??

I suppose the obvious answer to this is that it all depends on your definition of "poor". The field of "Law" covers an immensely wide range of practices and careers that touch every aspect of society. In this way it is unlike any other "specialized" degree. Naturally, with so many different ways to practice law, the salaries are sure to vary greatly. However, keep in mind that the upside of this is that a law degree provides a diverse menu of potential career paths. Many lawyers who aren't making the big bucks have chosen not to in favor of doing something they prefer applying their efforts to. Also, most salaries do increase over time. I will say that I don't know many old poor lawyers.

But again, it's all relative. Are you considered a poor lawyer if you don't make $100,000 a year? $75,000? $60,000? Or if you don't drive a German car? And are you really living luxuriously if you are working over 90 hours a week? This topic is discussed as nauseum on these boards, so I'm sure you can look around and form your own opinion. There are also many objective salary surveys available on the internet if you'd like to try to draw your conclusions from somewhere other than know-it-all law students who have never practiced law a day in their life.

There are tons of poor lawyers. In DC, most gov't, small firm and PI lawyers start somewhere around $45K. After taxes, that's $30K. When you subtract another $1K/month for loan payments and $1K/month for rent/utilities(in the ghetto), that leaves only $6K for everything else. I don't know how people live on $500/month. I spend $1K/month on food alone.

As far as the loan payments are concerned: you don't have to pay $1,000 a month, lenders have income-sensitive repayment plans in place.

There are tons of poor lawyers. In DC, most gov't, small firm and PI lawyers start somewhere around $45K. After taxes, that's $30K. When you subtract another $1K/month for loan payments and $1K/month for rent/utilities(in the ghetto), that leaves only $6K for everything else. I don't know how people live on $500/month. I spend $1K/month on food alone.

As far as the loan payments are concerned: you don't have to pay $1,000 a month, lenders have income-sensitive repayment plans in place.

When you say "Income sensitive repayment plans," what are you talking about? Stretching your loans out over 30 years? Hardship defermnets?